'This is a violation of fundamental rights', Hindu organization reaches SC challenging the Places of Worship Act, 1991

The All India Sant Samiti has also reached the Supreme Court against the Places of Worship Act. The All India Sant Samiti has filed an intervention petition in the Supreme Court, demanding the cancellation of Sections 3 and 4 of the Act, and has sought permission to present its side in the case. More than half a dozen petitions and applications are pending in the Supreme Court regarding the Places of Worship Act, which the court will hear on February 17.

In some of these petitions and applications, the provisions of the Act have been termed against the Constitution and discriminatory and demanded to be canceled, while in some, the provisions of the Act have been demanded to be implemented properly. The Sant Samiti has demanded the cancellation of the Act, while even before this, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has filed a petition demanding the proper implementation of the Act.

What does the law say?

The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991 says that the status of any place of worship will remain the same as it was on 15 August 1947. The character of any religious place will not be changed. The Supreme Court had ordered in the last hearing in the pending main case that at present no court will register a new suit of claim on any religious place and will not give any effective order in old pending cases. Nor will it order a survey.

At present, many cases like Gyanvapi in Banaras, Shahi Idgah in Mathura, Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Bhojshala in Madhya Pradesh, etc. are pending in the courts of the country in which claims have been made on religious places. Given these, the hearing on the Places of Worship Act on February 17 will be important.

What was said in the petition?

The Hindu organization has filed a new petition in the Supreme Court and has challenged the validity of Sections 3 and 4 of the 1991 Act on various grounds. Let us tell you that Section 3 of the Act prohibits the conversion of places of worship. Apart from this, Section 4 prevents the courts from considering disputes about the religious character of such places.

The petition states that these provisions legitimize places of worship established by barbaric invaders while violating the rights of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs to reclaim and restore their sacred sites.

The committee said that the 1991 law weakened judicial power by preventing courts from reviewing disputes, which violates the basic structure of the Constitution. The petition states that the Act prevents judicial review which is one of the fundamental aspects of the Constitution, hence it violates the basic structure of the Constitution of India.

The petition states that the law prevents Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs from reclaiming places of worship, and consequently violates their constitutional right to freedom of religion.